Intersection roadwork sees completion

The temporary roundabout at Bahia Vista Street and Honore Avenue has been removed, and traffic flow there is controlled once again by a traffic light.

The intersection was made into a roundabout so a construction crew could create a medallion made out of paver-like concrete in the middle of the intersection.

The medallion was created to improve the aesthetics of the intersection.

Sarasota County Traffic Manager Efrain Duque also confirmed that the three-mile construction segment on Honore Avenue from Bee Ridge Road to Fruitville Road is almost complete.

The newly completed project includes a two-lane road, bicycle lanes and decorative streetlights. The smaller project was done in preparation for the county’s complete Honore Avenue project, which will connect two segments of Honore Avenue into one road from Laurel Road, in Osprey, to Lockwood Ridge Road in Manatee County. The road would then become a north-south alternative to Interstate 75. The completion date for that project is 2015.

For weeks, motorists driving through the intersection ran over utilities, such as water main lines, that were exposed due to missing asphalt.

“There was a 1-inch thick portion of asphalt that was missing and caused the road not to be level,” Duque said.

The project engineer had plans to install the missing concrete layer this week.

“The difference in height will be eliminated,” Duque said. “Drivers will notice a difference, and the ride through that area will be much improved.”